Knicks Endure Painful Summer League Loss to Celtics

With no way to walk away from this Las Vegas table, the New York Knicks' prospects were forced to deal with a series of losses.

Pacome Dadiet, Kevin McCullar Jr., and James Nnaji were all forced to leave Sunday's exhibition against the Boston Celtics, whose prospects earned a 94-81 victory on Sunday evening at Cox Pavilion. Veteran Charles Bassey came off the bench to score 22 points, leading the future green men.

Seeking to impress after missing last year's summer activities with an injury, McCullar was far and away the brightest silver lining for the Knicks (0-2), scoring 30 points on 10-of-15 from the field. Things ended on a bittersweet note, as he took a shot in the face from a driving Max Shluga in the fourth quarter but drew the desired offensive foul. Fellow 2024 draft classmate Ariel Hukporti likewise stood out, falling one points short of a double-double with 13 rebounds.

Beyond that, however, it was a struggle for the mini metropolitans, who fell behind by 11 and never fully recovered. Main attractions Tyler Kolek was 1-of-13 from the field and a game-worst minus-25 while Dadiet (foot) was 3-of-11 before his medically-induced exit.

Beyond McCullar and Hukporti (12-of-19), the Knicks shot less than 25 percent from the field, including a brutal 6-of-37 from three-point range. No New Yorkers hit more than one in the latter category, which saw starters Dadiet, Kolek, McCullar, and MarJon Beauchamp hit only two of 19 tries.

The junior Knicks return to action on Tuesday night when they face their future rivals from Brooklyn at Cox Pavilion (6 p.m. ET, ESPN2).